The Supreme Court on Friday referred the decades-old politically sensitive Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case for mediation by a panel headed by former apex court judge FMI Kalifulla for exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement.
Spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living foundation Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu, a renowned mediator, will be the other two members of the panel of mediators.
The mediation process will commence within a week and the panel will submit the progress report within four weeks, the top court said.
It said that the mediation proceedings, which would be held “in-camera”, be completed within eight weeks which is the interregnum period granted earlier by the apex court to the parties in the main Ayodhya case to go through translations of oral and documentary evidences.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it does not find any “legal impediment” to make a reference to mediation for a possible settlement of the dispute
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday however found fault with Supreme Court and said that Supreme Court has taken a “surprising stand” by referring the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in Ayodhya to a mediation panel.
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered setting up a three-member panel headed by a former apex court judge FMI Kalifulla to explore a possible settlement of the decades-old politically sensitive dispute in Ayodhya.
In Ram-janmabhoomi case, instead of accelerating the judicial process to end the long drawn dispute, Supreme Court has taken a surprising stand RSS said .
It added that the SC should find no priority for this sensitive subject associated with deep faith of Hindu society is beyond understanding,
The parent organisation of the ruling BJP further said, “We are experiencing that Hindus are constantly being neglected. While having full respect in the judicial system we would like to say emphatically that the Judgment on the dispute must expedite and remove the obstacles in constructing a grand Temple.”
At a Training Camp of RSS in India
“The Supreme Court, in the Sabarimala case, without taking into consideration all relevant entities and customs, delivered a judgment even without consideration of the different opinion of the lone women member of the bench. It wasn’t binding on state govt to implement decision in any stipulated time frame, but without understanding nuances of Judgment, state govt showed undue haste and political ill-will towards Hindu society by facilitating forcible entry of non-Hindu and non-devotee women in the Temple,” the RSS statement said.
Around 1,400 members of the Pratinidhi Sabha including RSS head, Mohan Bhagwat and Sarkaryavaha Bhaiyaji Joshi are taking part in the meeting.
